PRESS DIGEST- Canada - Sept 10

Sept 10 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

** Senior executives of Southwest Airlines Co are sending strong signals that they're preparing to enter the Canadian market, although cities in Canada are among 50 new destinations the airline is still considering. (bit.ly/1pOsNkh)

** A Parks Canada-led team has found a ship lost in the doomed Franklin expedition to unlock the Arctic nearly 170 years ago, the fruit of a search championed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in his efforts to forge a Conservative brand of Canadian nationalism. The Prime Minister, who has styled his government a defender of Ottawa's claim to the Arctic, described the expedition as having laid the foundation for Canadian sovereignty in the region. (bit.ly/1wenCCD)

** The Health Canada-funded Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse is calling for a broad review of marijuana policy, including a closer look at the impact of legalization south of the border in Colorado and Washington. (bit.ly/1CQVxDc)

NATIONAL POST

** Cenovus Energy Inc and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd are considering divesting from their free land assets after the overwhelming success of Encana Corp's spin-off unit, the companies said on Tuesday. On Monday, Encana sold its remaining 70.2 million shares of PrairieSky Royalty Ltd for C$2.6-billion, only months after offloading 54 percent of the unit in a C$1.67-billion initial public offering. (bit.ly/WHS20B)

** Trailing far behind the pack, Sarah Thomson dropped out of Toronto mayor's race on Tuesday and called on the city and other candidates to coalesce around one person to oust Mayor Rob Ford. She said she will endorse whoever has the best chance of beating the mayor in the days leading up to the Oct. 27 vote. (bit.ly/1uvFYvO)

** Battling Islamic extremism represents the "greatest struggle of our generation," Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird told a joint House of Commons committee on Tuesday as the government revealed some Canadian troops are already inside Iraq. (bit.ly/1uvFhCR) (Compiled by Shivam Srivastava in Bangalore)